Refrigerator.



H. LATHAM.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1911. 1,165,185. Patented Dec.21,1915.

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HOPE LATHAM, NEW YORK, N. Y.

REFRIGERATOR.

To all whomz't may concern: Be it known that I, Horn LATHAM, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of time will be economical in the use of ice.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of the apparatus along the line A B of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of same along the line CD of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is likewise a vertical cross-section of the refrigerator taken at right angles to Fig. 2 along the line EE of Fig. 1.

In brief, my invention consists of a refrigerator having an ice compartment in the upper part thereof, said compartment being arranged to permit free circulation of air through its bottom to the storage compartment below, air circulating channels disposed along the sides of said refrigerator establishing communication between the upper portion of the ice compartment and the lower portion of the storage compartment, and regulating dampers disposed 1n said air circulating channels.

My invention will be more clearly under-- stood by the following detailed description.

.1 is the outside casing, preferably made of some suitable and inexpensive material such as wood pulp or papier mach, 2 is the ice compartment and 3 the provision storage compartment.

' 4 and 5 are the air circulating channels communicating with the lower portion of the provision storage compartment respectively through the openings 6 and 7 formed by the spaces left between the lower edges of the sheet metal sides 8 and 9 respectively and the bottom sheet 10. The, upper edges of the sides '8 and 9 do not extend to the top of the refrigerator, but terminate a shortdistance from said top so as to form the spaces 11' and 12 establishing communication between the upper portion of the ice compartment and the air circulating channels land 5 respectively. 1

13 and 14 are dead a1r spaces formed between the casing 1 and the sheets 15' and 16 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

Application filed May 4, 1911. 4 Serial No. 625,011.

respectively, which sheets extend the entire length. of the refrigerator from the-lower bottom sheet 10 to the top'ofthe outside casmg of the same, thus preventing the circulation of air therethrough. The deadair space 14 has a properly walled passage 17 therethrough for the introduction and withdrawal of provisions or other substances to be preserved in the storage compartment of said refrigerator. In order to prevent any fresh air from entering the space M through the opening 17, a horizontal sheet 18 is disposed therein, as well as the two vertical sheets 19 and 20.

21 is the door giving access to the storage compartment and has attached to its inner side the air box 22, and is arranged to have as "small a clearance as possible with the horizontal sheets 18 and 10 and vertical sheets 19 and 20,and to fulfil this purpose the vertical sheet 20 in the dead air space 1 1. as well as the edge 23 of the box 22 of the door 21, are shown made parts of arcs of concentric circles with the pivot 24 of the door as the center of their radii.

25 are a series of inverted V-shaped mem- I bers extending across the lower part of the me compartment forming a bottom to support the ice, said members being spaced apart from each other, thus allowing for the free circulation of the air through the spaces between said V-shaped members, and are supported by the transverse members 26 and 27. fastened respectively tothe sides 16 and 15 in any suitable manner.

28 are inclined V-shaped troughs, also having spaces left between them and so disposed in relation to the inverted V-shapedice-supporting members that the water formed by the melting ice resting on said members 25 drips into 28, and, due to their slight inclination, the liquid flows to the lower ends of said troughs 28. Small tubes 29 are attached to each of said troughs 28 through which the water flows and is collected in the transverse trough 30. To one end of this transverse trough 30 is attached the drain pipe 31, which contains some suitable means, 32, at its lower end to prevent the entrance of air therethrough. 33 is a catch basin for collecting the water discharging from the drain pipe 31.

34 and 35 are cross members supporting .the ends of the V-shaped troughs 28 and are attached in some suitable way to the sheets .16 and 15 respectively.

terfly dampers 36 and 37,

36 and 37 are dampers placed in the air circulating channels to regulate the current of air passing therethrough, and'thus the rate of circulation may be regulated.

38 is the lid covering the opening through which the ice is placed in the compartment 2.

39 is a rubber gasket attached to the lid 38,. making the lid 38 air-tight. A similar gasket, 40, is attached to the door 21.

42 is a compression latch forcing the rubber gasket tightly-against the casing 1 when the door 21 is closed.

4s3'is a dead air space, and may be filled with some heat insulating material such as sawdust. v p

Shelves, 44 and 45, are placed in the compartment 3, and are preferably arranged so that the cold air may circulate through them.

Any such arrangement will suffice, the one shown being simply metal rods or thin slats spaced apart and joined together at. their .ends where they are supported by the members 4:6.

41 are springs designed to hold the butin any desired position.

The operation of the apparatus is evident from the drawings. The cold air circulation is shown by the arrows. The water formed by the melting ice drips down the inclined sides of the members forming the ice compartment bottom and through the spaces left between them, into the inverted inclined V- shaped troughs 28, and flows down this plurality of troughs to their lower ends, through the several tubulatures 29 to the transverse trough30, where all the currents of water flowing through the troughs 28 are united into one stream which is carried out of the refrigerator by the drain pipe 31 anddelivered to the catch basin 33.

I It is to be distinctly understood that I do not limit my invention to the exact details of construction shown, as it is evident that many details may be changed without in any way departing from the main characteristic features of the-invention. As an eXample,I have shown my preferred form of outside casing-to be circular in horizontal cross-section. It may, however, be made, where preferred, of any curved cross-section, it being advantageous however to have the construction follow the general arrangement shown, inwhich the inscribed rectangular iceand storage compartments make a tight joint .with the inclosing outer shell and aredirectly. attached thereto. Such a construction insures greater structural rigidity as well as greater cheapnes's of construction than other types shown in the artsuch for instance, as the construction in which the inner compartment is also circular in cross-section and attached to and spaced from the outer shell by separate. spacing members. By thus combining-rectangular sage c mpar ment in, the. lowe re st ment. The return passages for the-air, from the storagecompartment to a point inthe ice compartment a little above 'theuppersurface of the ice therein, are also as direct as possible.

. Another advantageous feature of in- I.

vention is the insertion of damper in he air circulating channels or. passages. .It is evident that the faster the circulationof air through the apparatus, the cooler will .be the storage compartment, due to the. inv creased rate of heat transference frojnfthe storage compartment to the. ice, ands-the consequent increase in the rate of melting of the latter. Now, if there should be no .pro-

visions to be preserved the storage coinpartment there wouldbe' 'noobject in main.-

taining that compartment cold, byhaving a circulation of air therethrough with waste of ice, and in sucha case the dampers inithe circulating channels areclosed, thu [preventing anycirculation therethrough with a consequent saving of ice. Thisg fea tureof s P e v he ice i .Ye y .im ai nisai as it reduces the expense of 1ce to a considerable amount.

Th vant sa fi d yi ii i are not obtained the ex'penjse of elabo te and expensive constructionbut, on the 5 trary, by the simplest possible 1 construe ion and theuse of very inexpensivematerials.

Having thus described my inyentiom I desire to secure by Letters Patentand claim the I 1 :i

11. a refri erat r. o ili i ar. h cross-section, an inscribed rectangula ber, two of the sides of saidfrectangul mb extending f om as betteiliiel th top of said refrigerator to form. tyvqdjggid Sides i rs ss nlsr.. h 1s ssjs smisss-.. 1

ng e y r simu at n shennels be tween said sides 'of said rectangular. chagr s her d h u s d v c r ula eas ng-1 cf. zsa d r f gerato a icewmpartmesein .th upper part of said rectangular chamber-,

- rectangular c amb r, m ans. for sHPPeit-iis the ice in said compartment, means adapted to intercept water from dropping into said storage compartment but to allow the free circulation of air thereto, and regulating dampers in said air circulating channels, substantially as described.

2. In a cylindrical refrigerator, the combination of an inscribed rectangular chamber, two opposite sides of said rectangular chamber extending from the bottom to the top of said refrigerator, forming two dead air spaces with the outside cylindrical casing, the top edges of the other two opposite sides terminating a short distance below the top and their lower edges above the bottom of said refrigerator, thereby forming two air circulating channels communicating with said inner rectangular chamber at the top and bottom thereof, an ice supporting means transversely disposed in the upper portion of said inscribed chamber, a drip-intercept- 7 ing means transversely disposed in said chamber immediately below said ice-supporting means, both said ice-supporting and said drip-intercepting means being constructed to permit of the free flow of air therethrough, whereby said inscribed chamber is adapted to form the down-cast channel for the cooling air, dampers for regulating the circulation through said air-circulating channels, a door-Way inserted in one of said dead air-spaces, a heat-insulated door closing said door-way and a top-closure for said refrigerator.

3. As an article of manufacture, a refrigerator having a substantially cylindrical outer shell, a rectangular ice compartment in the upper part of saidrefrigerator, the walls of said ice compartment extending downward to form the walls of the storage compartment, two dead air spaces formed between two opposite walls of said ice and of said ice and storage compartments and said outside cylindrical shell, said air circulating channels communicating with said ice compartment at their tops and communicating with the storage compartment at their bottoms, said ice and storage compartments together forming the downcast passage for the cooling air, while said air circulating channels constitute the upcast passages for the cooling air, and regulating dampers located in said air upcasts, substantially as described.

4. As an article of manufacture, a refrigerator having an outer shell of curved horizontal cross-section, an approximately rectangular chamber inscribed within said outer shell in such manner as to form upcast channels for air between two opposite walls of said chamber and said outer shell, dead air-spaces between the other two opposite walls and said outer shell, the so-formed up-cast channels communicating with said inscribed chamber at the top and bottom thereof, ice-supporting and drip-intercepting means located in the upper portion of said inscribed chamber, whereby said upper portion is adapted to contain ice, said icesupporting means being constructed to permit the free flow of air therethrough, whereby said inscribed chamber is adapted to form the down-cast passage for the cooling air.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York this 2nd day of May A. D. 1911.

HOPE LATHAM.

WVitnesses FRANK L. BLACKBURN, FRANK J. PETURA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

